My Picks for 2011

My picks for 2011’s best reads – as always, because at least two thirds of my reading is backlist, the books are selected from everything I read this year, not just released in 2011. You can find reviews for all these books in the ‘Books I’ve Reviewed’ list to the left of screen.

Best wishes for all in 2012. I hope the importance of books continues to be celebrated, and I hope you all read a book that just worms its way into your heart. I also hope to shortly have good news of my own. Here’s to 2012 – Australia’s National Year of Reading.

BEST KIDS BOOK READ IN 2011:

The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende & The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Neverending Story is a children’s classic, which once you’ve read it, you know why it’s so. There is such imagination here, magic that never ends and is constantly surprising, a moral tale that’s never overdone, and lastly, a fabulous message about the importance of books. The Night Fairy, a few years old now, looks and reads like a new children’s classic and has a wonderfully spunky central character and loads of charm.

BEST YA BOOK READ IN 2011:

Good Oil, by Laura Buzo & Graffiti Moon, by Cath Crowley

When contemporary Aussie YA gets it right, it really gets it right. Both books were funny and true, with memorable main characters and great writing. Good Oil is a straightforward contemporary YA story, with dialogue and scenes as real as they come, while Graffiti Moon has a lovely touch of whimsy that perfectly captures the kind of night it describes. But where these books really get you is

with the emotional punch.

BEST KIDS SERIES READ IN 2011:

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy & Tales from the Tower, edited by Isobelle Carmody and Nan McNab

Wildwood was, I feel, just everything a middle grade kids adventure book should be. Tales from the Tower (Wilful Eye and Wicked Wood) was just a great idea well executed, and showcased some of Australia’s best YA and children’s writers.

BEST WRITING:

Tantony, by Ananda Braxton-Smith

Her books may not be for everyone, and they may not be easy, but the beauty she can create with words is outstanding – the weird, unusual and other becomes just gorgeous in Braxton-Smith’s hands. The Mourning Emporium too, just for the sheer joy Michelle Lovric takes in story and words and dialect.

BEST DISCOVERY:

Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

Not YA, but this little story set on Tasmania’s coast really got to me in the best kind of way.

MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE:

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

I was wary of the hype but this book was a delight to read, and told with such affection and power.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T READ UNTIL NOW:

 The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende

MOST UNPUTADOWNABLE:

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley & Tantony by Ananda Braxton-Smith

BEST CHARACTER:

Martha in Me and Mr Booker by Cory Taylor.  She is a walking wisecrack and I love it.

FAV COVER:

The Mourning Emporium, by Michelle Lovric & Tales from the Tower (both books)

MOST ANTICIPATED READING FOR 2012:

Night Beach, by Kirsty Eagar & Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric